


Magic to do

by nicklewho



Category: Homestuck, Pippin - Fandom
Genre: F/F, F/M, Theater - Freeform, Theater Kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-11 05:51:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7031671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicklewho/pseuds/nicklewho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's tech week during Skaia High's production of Pippin. Everyone is at each other's throats. Dave and Kanaya, the directors, are stressed about the show, but on top of that, they both have to win the hearts of the stunning members of the Junior class, Rose and Jade! Aradia has to deal with Stage Managing and Sollux Captor, the annoying Lights designer! Roxy has to keep her crush on John a secret, and, for the show stopping finale, will Terezi and Karkat make War, or Love!?!? Welcome Intrigue, Humor, Romance, Illusion, and Battles! You'll see John as Pippin, Karkat as Charlemagne, and Vriska and the dastardly Frastrada, plus, featuring the one and only, Miss Terezi Pyrope as the Lead Player! Rated M for a few mature circumstances but nothing very smutty, just kind of mature. Also language because of Dave and Karkat.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Opening

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry for my sins.

Finally, it was tech week. Four months of work were coming together, the worlds of tech and actors were colliding, Stage Managers were meeting their fellow board operators. It was an exciting time. 

But not for Dave Strider. He was crawling out of his skin. He hated tech week. He hated how everyone turned against each other, and he was especially not looking forward to spending more time with his ex-girlfriend, Jade Harley, who had broken up with him for a number of reasons, including that he had cast her as an ensemble member instead of as a lead. He was trying to show that he didn’t play favorites, but she was wounded and accused him of not appreciating her enough. The conversation had been a nightmare. 

Fortunately, he and his co-director, Kanaya, had made an agreement that she would take on the arduous job of dealing with the technical rehearsals. She wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, but she knew she was capable, especially with a strong and talented Stage Management team, led by Aradia Megido, by her side. Before the first tech rehearsal started, Kanaya and Dave pulled Aradia aside. 

“Look, Aradia, you and I both know that this has not exactly been an easy show. There’s been a lot of drama and bad blood.” Kanaya said cautiously. 

“I know. And it gets worse. Terezi and Karkat are at each other’s throats again. Plus, Captor is running the Lights Board.”

“Aradia we need you to put your personal prejudices aside and focus on the show. We all know that you and Sollux don't exactly get along, but we’re all standing by. You have a responsibility to your actors and designers to keep everything running smoothly.”

Aradia rolled her eyes and looked at Dave. He shrugged. She glared at her director. 

“Fine.” 

And so the first ever tech rehearsal began. To be honest, the show had great potential, but Aradia knew that is would land on its ass unless everyone could put their differences aside. She knew she was being a hypocrite, though. She didn’t think she could ever reconcile with Captor. Slowly, she made her way to the loft above the stage and took her place at the master script. She placed the headset over her ears. The Captor twins suddenly burst in, noisily crunching on cheetos and talking about Mituna’s girlfriend, Latula, who was one of Aradia’s Assistant Stage Managers. 

“Captors.” she said tersely. “I hope we can put our differences aside for the sake of the show.”

“Yeah. Megido. Can’t see that happening.” Sollux said coyly, crumpling up the cheetos bag and tossing it into the trash. 

“Look. It’s my responsibility to-”

“I get it.” Sollux said tightly. “No big deal. Let’s just get this over with.”

They only managed to get through a couple of scenes from act one because SOMEONE kept fucking around with the lights and laying waste to Aradia’s perfectly good sticky note system. It was all she could do not to strangle him. 

“Stop.” she said, holding down the button for the God Mic, which broadcasted through the whole theater. John and Karkat, who were center stage, and Terezi, who was lurking stage right, stopped what they were doing immediately. 

“What’s the problem, Megido?” said Sollux irritatedly, running his fingers through his sandy blonde hair. 

“Nothing, except that you missed three lights cues in the last three lines of dialogue.”

“Fine.”

“Okay,” she said, flipping on the God Mic again. “Let’s take it from Lewis’ entrance. Karkat, please give the cue line.”

“Okay!” he said, and cleared his throat. “But for how long? Pippin, sunrise and sunset are similar, but not identical.”

“Enter Lewis!” Terezi said conspiratorially. Jake ran onto the stage, flexing his muscles and flipping his hair. There was supposed to be a sound cue and a lights change, Aradia noticed, and sighed deeply. It was already 4:00 and they’d only gotten through scene one. 

“Stop.” she said into the God, and glared angrily at Sollux. “Can we please take Lewis’ entrance again  _ one more time _ ?”

Sollux shrugged. 

“From the same line?” said Karkat. 

“No, let’s take it a little earlier since Captor seems to need ample time to get ready for his cue.” she said, enjoying the baffled look on the Junior’s face. “Take it from, ‘The most powerful man in the world?’”

“The most powerful man in the world? Oh, Pippin, don't exaggerate. What about the Pope?” said Karkat.

“I rank you ahead of the Pope, sir.” said John. 

“I happen to agree with you.” Karkat nodded, his booming voice broadcast throughout the theater without a mic.

Backstage there were more issues. 

“John and I are just friends!” Roxy whispered loudly, and Vriska snorted.

“Yeah, sure. But I am warning you, Miss Friend, that you have no idea what I am capable of. Stay away from him.” Vriska was seething. A small crowd of other actors was forming around them, and Dirk, the Assistant Stage Manager for stage right, was trying to focus on the script, not noticing the fight happening behind him. 

“I’m not going to stay away from my friend because his girlfriend is jealous, that is bullshit!” Roxy snapped, and Vriska growled lowly. 

“Enter Fastrada.” said Terezi from onstage, but Vriska wasn’t paying attention. 

“I’m not jealous of  _ you _ . I just don’t think John needs to be around your silly pining bullshit.” she retorted. 

“Enter Fastrada.” Terezi said again, a little louder. 

“I’m not pining after John. We’re friends.”

“ENTER FASTRADA” Terezi said, practically yelling. Dirk whirled around in his chair to survey the backstage right area and noticed what was going down. 

“Really? Because anyone with an eye, and by the way, count mine, can see that you’re totally hot for him.” Vriska smirked, her one glass eye shining in the blue backstage lights. 

“ENTER-”

“STOP.” Aradia interrupted over the God Mic. “Where is Vriska?”

Vriska gave one last withering look to Roxy before flouncing onto the stage. 

“Sorry!” she shouted up at Aradia. “Can we take that again?”

“Yes. Take it from Pippin’s line, ‘You mean you’re going to war?’” Aradia said in a monotone.

“Got it!” John said. 

Out in the audience, Kanaya shared a look with Dave. 

“We knew this would be a process.” she said, and Dave winced.

"One hour down, a million more to go."


	2. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day two of tech rehearsal. Karkat and Terezi argue about bullshit, and Kanaya worries about distance.

The second tech rehearsal was no better than the first. In fact, it may have even been worse, especially for one Karkat Vantas. He was really just trying to focus and put on the best performance he could, but it was hard with his sort-of-girlfriend Terezi breathing down his neck. Every time she cornered him, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He knew that he was definitely attracted to her, but there was something complicated about their relationship that made his head hurt. It was like, they would cuddle and do cutesy couple things that made him want to barf, but they fought so fucking much, and he wasn’t even going to mention to sex. Which, of course, was always angry and usually only happened when they argued. They also never talked about their formal title, which he really wanted to do. She seemed wary of labeling herself like that, though. 

They were in another fight. He knew exactly how it would be resolved, and she knew exactly how it would be resolved. He knew she knew he knew, and she knew he knew she knew, as well. It was like a subtle dance around each other, when would it happen? The predictable resolution to all their arguments, the angry makeup sex? It was very difficult to focus on rehearsal with her teasing him with the thought.  

They were arguing about something stupid, as usual. He’d forgotten, he was so distracted by her teasing. She was very good at teasing. For instance, before he went onstage for War is a Science, she stopped him, as she was exiting. She pulled him in by his shirt and whispered something lascivious into his ear. Her breath was warm and it tickled the soft flesh of his neck, sending goose pimples down his spine. 

“Terezi, fuck.” he whispered, his hands fluttering to her back. She lingered for only another moment before pushing him away from her and stalking off. He tried to focus again but it took a few moments before he realized he’d missed his cue. 

“Stop.” said Aradia over the God Mic. “Where is Karkat?”

“He’s backstage on my side, standing in the wings like an idiot. I don’t know why he didn’t enter.” he could hear Latula saying into the headset. 

“Karkat, we’re going to take it from Pippin’s line, ‘Me, a warrior. Finally, a chance to be part of something important.’ Can you please enter this time?”

He glanced at Terezi, who was snickering over by Latula. She grinned broadly, and he tore his eyes away, trying to focus on the stage.

“Yeah Aradia!” he shouted, unsuccessfully ignoring Terezi’s snickers from the ASM table. 

War is a Science went horribly wrong. He stumbled over the difficult phrases, and all the practice with Dave in the world couldn’t help with Terezi’s psycho-bullshit. 

When he finally exited after the War sequence, he waited, trembling with anger in the wings for Terezi to exit. When she finally did, he pulled her into the dressing room and began whispering loudly (which was the only way he knew how to whisper.)

“Terezi, what the hell?”

“What?” she said, pulling a cutesy fake-innocent act. Her hands fluttered to the back of his neck, but he swatted her away.

“What do you mean, what? I’m sick of you distracting me like this, either you’re my girlfriend or you’re not. I’m not going to keep doing this “will-they-or-won’t-they” shit. And I’m not going to keep sleeping with you every time we fight. Not until you make up your goddamn mind!” He hissed. He didn’t quite know where this was all coming from, perhaps a year and a half of built-up resentment? That was probably it. She suddenly looked very serious.

“Karkat, I didn’t mean to-” He interrupted her, giving an ultimatum.

“Dude, you have til the show is over to sort your shit out. After that, I’m done with this game. Okay? Okay. And also, don’t just turn me on like you don’t know what you’re doing, okay? It’s fucking irritating.” He turned on his heel and marched out of the dressing room. 

Out in the audience, Kanaya was facing her own personal crisis. 

She and Rose had been dating for 11 months, and it had been the best eleven months of her life. However, Kanaya was to graduate in two short months, and she wasn’t sure exactly if she and Rose would make it work or be forced to break up. Rose was a Junior and Kanaya was a senior, and soon Kanaya would be going to the University of Southern California to study Human Biology and hopefully someday become an OB/GYN and deliver babies. And Rose would waste away for another year at Skaia High. 

Houston (which was the city they lived in) to LA was just a three hour flight, but on their budget, it was a 22 hour drive. Plus Rose would have to stop and stay the night at hotels and eat food, and so the cost just kept adding up. 

Kanaya knew that realistically, they would have to break up. But they way she felt whenever she pondered it made her want to puke.

She looked over at Rose, who was the conductor of the Orchestra. She was in an intense focus, watching the strings section with a keen eye. She whispered something to them, and suddenly, they started playing with more force, headed by the lovely Perri Mendicant, who was a soft-spoken senior dressed in grey. Rose smiled, satisfied by her work, when she suddenly snapped around to the brass section (who called themselves the Midnight Crew, the dorks) and started talking at them very fast. The first chair and Trumpet player, junior Jack Noir, apparently did not appreciate this. He glared up at Rose and began blowing random notes into his trumpet. The others in the Midnight Crew followed suit, and Kanaya cradled her head in her hands as she heard Aradia shout “Stop!” over the God mic. Ughhhhh. Not again. 

Tech rehearsals were going worse than she expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Few Things:   
> 1) I have Kanaya going into Human Biology with the goal of being an OB/GYN because it mirrors her role on Alternia, to help hatch the next generation of young trolls. Jade bloods are notoriously maternal (*cough cough* DOLOROSA *cough cough*) so I thought this career would be a good choice for my smoll Kanaya. Plus everyone always makes her a fashion designer, the idea is so overdone. No offense, I like it, but its really more of a hobby than a career. 
> 
> 2) I'm posting a handy dandy chart of every role, design position, and even orchestra instrument, to my Tumblr. The numbers by their names are their grades, and some of them have little explainations. So yeah, if you're confused, just consult the chart. Rad.   
> http://b-3dlam.tumblr.com/post/145625421188/a-handy-dandy-chart-for-pippinstuck
> 
> Thanks for reading ya'll!!!!


	3. War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aradia tries something new to keep Sollux under control. Meanwhile, Karkat tries to sort out his shit with Terezi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know it's been like 102,493 years since I posted. Really sorry. I had a crazy busy year. I think you'll see in this chapter that my writing has really improved since last time I posted. Please enjoy the chapter.
> 
> Oh also, for future reference, Aradia is a junior. I realized its not plausible for a sophomore to be an ASM.

Aradia had just about had it with Sollux’s antics. She’d tried everything, public humiliation, new, stricter rules, but nothing worked. It wasn’t until the evening after Tech Rehearsal 2 that she’d come up with a better plan. It was while she was talking over the headset in a video game with her team member, Tavros. 

“He’s completely impossible. I just have no idea what to do. Oh, Tav, I’m sending a potion your way.”

“Thanks. Look, Aradia, just do what my parents do with Rufioh. They instigated a chore chart, and whenever he does something (watch out there’s a trap four kilometers to your left...) um, wrong, they make him do more chores. It works awesome.”

“Thaaaanks, I’ll try that. YES. We released the hoard!”

“Uhh, yeah, but that means that the denizen is awake now.”

“Oh well. We can take him. Just....not tonight.” Aradia said, peering at the time. It was almost midnight, and she had plans to make. “We’ll get him tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay. Night Aradia.”

“Good night, Tavros!”

She spent a half an hour crafting the perfect chore chart, compiling the worst tasks of her job into one and matching them up with Sollux offenses. 

_ Talking Back=Sweep the Stage, Mop the stage, or Dust the Lights and Sound Closets. _

_ Defying an ASM=Organise the SM Kits _

_ Defying the SM=Type the Rehearsal Report _

_ NOT COMPLETING YOUR JOB TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITIES ON PURPOSE=All of the above, plus mopping inside the lights, set, scenic, and sound closets.  _

Aradia grinned, surveying her masterpiece. It was beautiful. Now she just had to convince everyone to follow it...

Before rehearsal started the next day, Aradia made an announcement to all her designers. She gathered them together in the Audience toward the front of the house. Kanaya, Porrim, and Rose talked together over a sketch pad while Mituna and Latula sat in the front row, whispering very close to each other. Nepeta and Terezi emerged from the Scenic Closet where they were loaning Jade some paint for a prop, and the three of them also took their seats in the front row. Sollux sat far away from the group, engrossed with something on his laptop. Aradia rolled her eyes and cleared her throat to make an announcement. 

“Hello, guys! Due to some attitude issues from  _ some _ team members who will remain nameless,” she made eye contact with Sollux, who rolled his eyes, “I will have to instigate this chore chart.” She held up the chore chart for everyone to see. “For most of you, these should be easy rules to follow. Okay, I’m putting this up in the Loft. Thanks for your cooperation.”

Porrim, the primary costume designer, raised her hand.

“Aradia, while I respect you very much as a strong leader, I have to question your judgement.”

“Well you don’t HAVE to.”

“Look, we all know who you are trying to punish.” Porrim glanced pointedly at Sollux, who was back in his laptop. The rest of the group followed Porrim’s gaze and he looked up at the group, pretending to be bewildered. 

“Who, me? Am I the troublemaker? Who would have guessed that Megido would personally attack me in front of a group of people?”

Aradia took a deep breath, attempting to stay calm. 

“Look, Captor. I don’t know what to do anymore! You’re always disobeying me and defying me. I am in charge. I am the Stage Manager, okay? I know you have issues with me, but I’m not going anywhere. I’m sorry that the chore chart doesn’t please you, but contrary to popular belief, the Stage Manager is not responsible for pleasing you.”

“No, but a good stage manager cares about the comfort of her designers.” He said, his voice raising to a shout. 

“Okay, I’ll buy some new chairs, will that make you comfortable, your highness?”

“Look, I don’t mind being addressed as your highness, because I’m basically better than you in every way, but you should at least try and sound more sincere when you say it.”

Aradia took another deep breath and exhaled forcibly. She was flushed and angry.

“Hey guys, calm down. Sollux, let’s just do the chore chart, it'll be easier...” Nepeta said quietly from her spot next to Equius in the third row. Aradia ignored her. 

“Sollux Captor, there is no way your weak burns will ever get to me. Clearly, you’re not responding to the chore chart. And I don’t know why I ever thought it would work, because there’s no way in hell I could make you do chores. But let's think about it this way. I’m the boss, and you do what I say, and use the chore chart, or you can leave the show. Okay?”

Sollux looked at her for a couple seconds, then dejectedly crossed his arms, quietly muttering something that sounded like ‘whatever.’ Aradia sighed. 

“Okay, Porrim, does that help?”

Porrim glanced at Sollux. 

“I don’t believe any of us want to get on your bad side, Megido.” She replied. 

* * *

After Aradia dismissed the designers, Sollux went to his locker, angrily banging it open and throwing a bunch of his shit on the floor. He muttered general complaints and swears to himself as he shifted through papers and other shit, angrily tossing items about the hallway. This was when Karkat approached from behind, his arms crossed. Sollux noticed him coming and threw more of his shit on the ground.

“Dude, what the fuck. Are you seriously throwing a temper tantrum like a little child?”

“What?” Sollux said loudly, looking up from his trash pile. “What the fuck do you want, KK?” Karkat shrugged nonchalantly. He chose his next words with care.  

“Nothing. Just wondering why you are constantly ruining your chances with Aradia.”

Maybe he could have chosen them more carefully.

Sollux whirled around to face him, flushed and angry. 

“What?” 

“You’ve had a crush on her since like, freshman year. And now you’re ALONE together in a dark loft and you're suddenly acting like a dick?”

“Mituna’s there, dickweed,” he snapped. “And I do not have a crush on that uptight, obstinate...”

“Please, you’re so transparent.” Karkat interrupted, waving his hand impatiently. “You couldn’t be more obvious if you jumped onstage and stripped naked, revealing that you tattooed her name on your dick. It’s so elementary. Just stop being a douche. I have an eye for these things, I KNOOOWW you like her.”

“Holy shit, what are you even talking about?” Sollux said. Karkat crossed his arms stubbornly. 

“Be serious. She’s really hot, and smart, and she always smells nice! Those are like, the best three things ever! I can tell she likes you, too.” 

“She is not- wait, what?” Throughout this discussion, Sollux’s arms had been flapping around wildly, but at this revelation, his whole torso went slack. 

“Yeah. You irritate her more than anyone, and everyone else gives her  _ just _ as much bullshit. Clearly, she pays attention to your bullshit more.” Sollux considered this for a second, realizing it was true. He started to get real optimistic. They had a lot in common. They were both stubborn, both into history and science, they did theater, they basically had every class... it made sense!

Then he looked down at his body and his heart sank.  _ Fuck. How could she like a twig-ass motherfucker like me? I mean, look at me! _

“Dude, your Cupid act is fucking depressing to watch. Please cool it, okay? Aradia doesn't like me, have you seen me???” Karkat 

“You're delusional. So fuck you. It's simple body language, really, not that hard to understand. Just fucking watch her for a while. And stop fucking up. Okay?”

* * *

Downstairs, Aradia realized that Sollux was still gone, probably sulking somewhere. She decided to go looking for him. He was probably at his locker or something. They needed to start rehearsal soon. She did feel a little bad for getting so angry at him. She thought maybe if she was gentle enough telling him to come to rehearsal they might actually get stuff done today.

She was just about to round the corner to get to his locker when she suddenly stopped. She heard Karkat’s voice, and Sollux’s. 

“Aradia knows you’re not a bad looking guy...”

She knew it was rude to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help herself. She pressed her back up against the wall so they wouldn’t see her and strained her ears.  

“...But if you don’t stop being a fucking asshole, she will never even consider dating you.”

“I don’t want to date her, she almost kicked me out the show today.”

“Yeah, and that was only because you were being a raging douche. Look, dude, I dare you to see what happens if you stop being a dick. She will be all over you by the end of the show. I swear.” Aradia’s eyebrows shot up. 

* * *

Sollux fell silent. Obviously Karkat was right about his feelings for Aradia, and he wouldn’t mind it terribly if she WAS all over him. She was actually quite pretty when she wasn’t screaming at him. He thought for a moment about her warm brown hair. She always smelled like cinnamon. That was pretty cool, he guessed. The more he thought about her, the more his feelings toward her shifted from cold to warm. Hot, even.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aradia stood, shell shocked, thinking about this weird revelation. She did not like  _ Sollux Captor _ . He was brutish, and annoying, and... cute? She peeked around the corner for a few seconds and caught sight of Captor. He was quite tall and lanky, with messy dark hair and glasses slightly too large for his slender face. He fell back against the wall and slid down to sit on the ground and tousled his hair. Ugh. Suspicions confirmed. He was quite cute. He hated herself. What were these positive feelings doing here? Her whole body was flooded with a familiar warm and light feeling she got when she realized she was crushing.

Aradia always fell hard and fast, and this time was no different. Well, it was a little different. Because there was no way in hell she would be all over him. 

“Fine, dude, but seriously, it’s only because I don’t want to get kicked out of the show. Okay?” Sollux’s voice shook Aradia suddenly out of her thoughts. 

“Oh my god, you are such a moron. She likes you, I can tell, Are you going to blow your chances with her to spite me?”

Aradia pulled herself together and rounded the corner, avoiding eye contact with Sollux. Her face felt hot and she mentally kicked herself. 

“I guess she is kind of pret-  Hi Aradia! Are we ready to start rehearsal?” Sollux said as Aradia approached Sollux, Karkat, and the mess of papers on the floor. 

Aradia continued to avoid eye contact and looked directly at Karkat. 

“Yes. Yes... we are staring, so Karkat and Sollux please go down now. I’m ready to see a new and improved Captor attitude.” 

“Dandy.” Sollux said sarcastically, and she rolled her eyes. 

“Let's go, wise guy.” 

_ Wise guy? Sure picked a nice time to say THAT for the first time. _ Aradia thought. 

She nodded her head in the direction of the theater and they began walking in that direction, leaving Karkat to shove all of Sollux’s shit back into his locker. Karkat moved to follow, but physically couldn’t leave all the shit on the floor. 

* * *

“No good piece of shit.” He said, haphazardly tossing notebooks, random books, and loose leaf papers into the locker. “Incompetent dickweed, leaving me to clean up his shit, just like always.

“Need any help?” Said a familiar scratchy voice from behind. It was Terezi.  

Karkat ignored her offer and continued to smush more shit in. Pencils, a stick of deodorant, five empty Cheetos bags, and a toothbrush with gum on the bristles. He gagged a bit. Sollux was a slob. 

“What do you want, Terezi?” Karkat said, trying to keep his voice down. He didn't want to air his shit in front of everyone like it was a fucking freak show, the way that Vriska and Roxy, Sollux and Aradia, and Dave and Jade fought. He didn't want to be THAT couple too. 

“Just trying to help.” She sounded guarded. 

“I don't want to talk to you until you figure out what you want.” Karkat muttered. He heard her inhale sharply, like she was going to say something, but then reconsidered. There was a beat, and then he heard her shuffle away. He finished throwing Sollux’s crap into the locker and slammed it shut before stalking off toward rehearsal. 

The problem with fighting with Terezi like this was that Terezi was actually an amazing person, and he just wanted to be with her. She was funny as hell, intelligent, way more intelligent than him, not to mention she was  _ way  _ out of his league. 

But she had that other side of her, the side that had fought with Vriska all those years ago, the side that made him dangle on the string like a puppet, the sadistic side, that scared the shit out of him. 

The Vriska drama was so convoluted and fucked up that he didn’t even want to think about it. It had been this weird rivalry from Freshman year. 

Vriska, Terezi, and Tavros had all been really good friends once upon a time. They gamed together and were generally the most popular people in the Freshman class. Aradia was also sort of becoming friends with Sollux in a “We sit next to each other in a lot of classes” sort of way. 

Something went wrong, though, when Vriska and Tavros started dating Second Semester of Freshman year. 

First Vriska had been there when Tavros broke both his legs, maybe not, but no one had been there at the time, and no one could remember, so Tavros was forced to have a wheelchair for months while his legs healed. 

Aradia was angry about it so she made everyone stop being friends with her. Vriska hated being alone.

Vriska retaliated by manipulating Aradia into failing all her classes Freshman year, and as a result, she ended up with Equius, who ended up being kind of stalker-y and weird and manipulative. She’d just been so depressed and numb that Equius seemed like a good option, Karkat guessed. 

Equius frequently tortured Sollux, which made Sollux hate Aradia. She was like, a bystander. She just stood there, like a ghost, and watched it happen, over and over. 

Meanwhile, Terezi was shocked and furious about what had happened to her friend group. Terezi had decided that it was all Vriska’s fault. 

Vriska had been talking to this super sketchy guy to get cocaine, so Terezi told the guy that Vriska was stealing from him. She hadn’t really realized how fucked up the guy was, though. She didn’t anticipate what would happen. He’d attacked her and damaged her left eye so much it had to be removed. Her left arm had also been damaged so she didn’t quite have function in it. 

Vriska’d “accidentally” spilled some weird shit on Terezi’s sunglasses during a Chem Lab, and so Terezi’s eyes were irreparably damaged. She wasn’t blind, but she had to wear red tinted glasses with super thick lenses in order to see. 

That was the drama in a nutshell. Karkat didn’t want any part of it. Mostly, he didn’t want any part of Terezi’s sadistic nonsense. 

When something was bothering her, it didn’t mean defeat. It meant war. And all of a sudden, Karkat realized that he’d started one with the war queen herself.

Fuck. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya'll, hope you liked the chapter. A couple things!  
> First, I totally based Aradia in this chapter on my SM from Pippin. Everyone please hug your Stage Managers and appreciate how much work they do! Stage Managers are queens!  
> Also, you guys have NO idea how much editing I had to do on the Karkat/Sollux conversation so I really hope you guys like it. It was like, too much swearing, and then not enough, and then they seemed like they hated each other. Anyways, it took a while.  
> Sorry again for waiting so long to post. I lost interest for so long, and then when I finally wanted to start writing it again, it was the middle of my exams. Bad timing. Sorry!  
> Please make sure to leave your comments! My school just finished their production of Pippin so I have TONS of ideas about drama and shit that can happen onstage and off. So get excited ya'll.


	4. The Flesh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave feels awkward. Kanaya and Rose spend some time in a closet. Also, what are John and Roxy up to backstage???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second update in the same week?? Crazy!!! Im really feeling it right now, so I'm trying to update as much as I can before I get writer's block again :/  
> Anyways enjoy the chapter please.

 

It was finally the last Technical rehearsal. Things had been going relatively well between Aradia and Sollux in that they were being cordial to one another. Sollux could barely speak to his Stage Manager because he was so terrified she’d heard him talking about her. Aradia was so embarrassed about her crush on the Lights Designer that she could barely even sit next to him. She was squirrely and awkward, and he was quiet and withholding. Not a great situation, but all in all, it was an improvement from when they wanted to kill each other.

* * *

Before rehearsal, Dave went down to the theater to talk to Equius about a last minute change to the fire box. The fire box was the trick box in which Jade, as the Torch Player, pretended to light herself on fire. It was an important part of the Finale sequence.

When he arrived, though, the theater was empty, causing him to curse loudly. He’d have to wait to fix it til tomorrow during Stagecraft class. He supposed he could at least let Jade know...

Jade. He suddenly felt very sickly. There was nothing he regretted more than hurting Jade. He regretted not picking her for a lead. He knew that Jade was right for Catherine and John was right for Pippin, but he couldn’t cast them both because they were siblings. In the end, due to a lack of other male talent, Dave had chosen to cast John and gave the role of Catherine to the inexperienced Sophomore, Feferi. It wasn’t like Feferi wasn’t talented. She just hadn’t been his favorite. 

Jade had been heartbroken. Dave didn’t want to make it seem like it was a choice between the two siblings, so he told her some lie about favoritism which. This had apparently been the WRONG move. She’d flipped out and told him that she was the best person for the role, and that not casting her solely based on the fact that she was his girlfriend was shitty. 

“If you feel uncomfortable with a lead in your production being your girlfriend then there is always a way to fix that!” she’d said. 

Dave shook his head and waited for his ex to arrive. After a while, Jade entered the theater with Meenah and Jane and tossed her stuff down in one of the theater’s seats. He approached her as she was unpacking some stuff she’d need for rehearsal. 

“Hey Jade. Just wanted to ask you something ‘bout the fire box.” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets sheepishly. She didn’t look up.

“Yeah?” she unrolled a pair of leggings and put them over her shoulder.

“Well, we need to take out the front panel and replace it with frosted glass. The fire isn't reading from the audience. I’m fixing it tomorrow during 7th period with Equius.”

“Okay.” she said distractedly, pulling a leotard out and sweeping her long dark hair into a ponytail.

“Just a heads up. Oh hey, good job yesterday.” In order to get into the fire box, Jade’s characters dropped down from the catwalk on Aerial Silks and descended into the box. She’d tried a couple of different tricks to get down, but yesterday had been the best he’d seen. 

“Yeah?” she said, this time looking up at him. He suddenly felt nervous. 

“Yeah. You’ve never done the spinny thing coming down. It was cool. Cooler than cool. Ice cold. Or hot, I guess, since you’re supposed to be on fire. Cool like fire.” He mentally kicked himself. 

“Thanks, Dave!” she said. She zipped the bag and stood up to face him. “I gotta go change, catch you later!”

“Yeah.” he said. Apparently making an idiot of himself put her in a good mood. He saved that note for future reference. 

* * *

Later, Dave and Kanaya gathered the cast together before warm ups in order to discuss protocol for Dress Rehearsal. They stood before their cast and Kanaya felt anticipation broiling in her stomach. The show was really getting close and she wasn’t sure how they were going to pull through with all the backstage drama and onstage issues. She put these concerns aside and attempted to be a stern director instead of a scared 18 year old.

“Tomorrow is the first Dress Rehearsal! Everyone please bring your makeup and any costume pieces that won’t be provided by the Costume Department. We want everyone in pale white face paint and harlequin makeup. Porrim has designs for all of you which she is passing out now. If you don’t think you’ll be able to recreate these looks on your own, let her know and she’ll do them for you.” Kanaya announced. 

Porrim walked about the cast seated around the stage, handing them drawings of what their makeup should look like. The designs were Jestery in nature, with shapes on the cheeks or below their eyes.

“If you’re a lead, Kanaya will be doing your makeup, so just bring it with you. Porrim, what are the pieces that people need to bring?” Dave said. 

“If you’re in the war scene, you need to bring some black leggings. If you’re in the Orgy Sequence, please bring a black leotard. If you’re one of the Aerialists in the Opening, bring leggings with stirrups. The rest of the costumes will be provided. As far as makeup goes, we have cream white face paint here, so just bring translucent powder and anything else you think you’ll need to recreate your look. Please come to me with any questions.”

Porrim surveyed the group stylishly from her place atop an expensive pair of Miu-Mius. She made a note in a legal pad, and then scanned the cast. Dave continued to make announcements as Kanaya zoned out a little bit, studying her beautiful twin. Porrim and Kanaya shared the same dark hair and exotic look. Their father was Japanese and their mother was Indian, so they looked quite different from most of their classmates in Texas. When they were little girls, their parents divorced and their mother moved them from Cumbria, England, to Houston, Texas, making them not only the sole Sikh people in their neighborhood, but the  _ twin  _ Sikh people with the weird accents. Kanaya used to resent her mother for this, since she and Porrim were teased a lot as children, but as it happened, having an accent made her seem “cultured” to many colleges. She wasn’t complaining about it anymore. 

Kanaya mentally shook herself a little bit and caught eyes with Rose just as Dave dismissed the meeting. Rose was wearing the dress Kanaya’d given her for her birthday, a strappy black one with small lilac flowers to decorate it. Underneath she wore a white tee shirt to make the otherwise scandalously sexy dress more casual. Kanaya stood to move to her as the cast members got up around her, one by one, stretching, and began getting ready to start the show. 

“We’re starting in 20!” Aradia said over the God Mic. “We’re having some technical- Mituna stop that- difficulties.”

Kanaya made her was over to her girlfriend and wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her in ever so slightly. She gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. 

“I can’t wait to get rehearsal over with.” Kanaya whispered. Rose grinned broadly. 

“I know. At least Sollux and Aradia seem to be cool now.”

“I guess. However, I think that Vriska may be cooking up some sort of scheme against Roxy.”

“Oh, lord. My poor sister.” Rose smirked, her painted lips tugging at the corners. Kanaya was a little breathless for a moment. She felt herself being caught up in one of those moments where you look at the person you love and think to yourself,  _ Oh my god. I am so fucking lucky.  _

“You know,” said Rose, her voice dropping in tone and pitch, “We don’t start for another 20 minutes...” Her violet eyes caught Kanaya’s green ones.

“I’ll meet you in the Sound Closet in 2.” 

“Okay!” Kanaya watched as Rose began mingling a little to kill time and took this as her cue to walk briskly to the Sound Closet. One inside, she pushed some boxes of cables off of the sole stool in the room and sat down. She was about a foot taller than Rose, which was why, when they made out, Kanaya usually sat down while Rose stayed standing. 

The door opened and Rose entered, looking, just...Gorgeous. Kanaya grinned as Rose moved to her. Within seconds, they were on each other, sharing a heated kiss. 

Kanaya never grew tired of the feeling of kissing her girlfriend. With her ex, Vriska, sometimes, when they were kissing, she couldn’t wait for it to be over so she could go do something else. But with Rose, time seemed to freeze in place. Rose’s kiss was like drug, she couldn't get enough. She wrapped her arms around Rose’s neck and her hands dangled around the small of her back. She felt Rose’s fingers tracing up and down her spine. She was so fucking lucky. 

Just as this thought crossed her mind for the second time that day, she suddenly remembered the choice that was facing them. How could they just make out in this closet knowing that doomsday was drawing near? After all, it was April, and Senior Checkout Day was creeping up on them faster than you can say Rosemary. 

Rose seemed to notice that Kanaya wasn’t so into it anymore because she paused, pulling her lips away and finding Kanaya’s eyes with her own.

“What’s wrong?” Rose moved her hands to Kanaya’s face. 

“Well... I was just thinking about everything that is facing us, the decision, I mean. We haven’t really talked about it since Christmas, and it’s really important because...”

“Rambling!” Rose said, somewhat impatiently. 

“Right. Sorry.”

“Get to the point. What decision?”

Rose seemed to be playing a game and feigning ignorance.

“Well, I am going to college soon, and you’re staying here.”

“That’s true.” said Rose, pulling a little further away. “So you think we should break up?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Kanaya retorted, standing. 

“Then there’s nothing to discuss.” Rose said. She pulled herself completely away. “I have to go. Wait 2 minutes after I leave.” She took a second to straighten her bangs before stalking out of the closet without another word. 

Kanaya suddenly felt herself being caught up in a different “one of those moments” where you look at the person you love and think to yourself,  _ That certainly could have gone better. _

* * *

Outside, onstage, John Egbert was having problems of his own. He’d just had a major fight with Vriska about her addiction, which she’d promised she was over. When he’d found a little bit of weed in her bag, she’d assumed he was judging her, which he wasn’t. He just didn’t know she smoked. They’d fought and she was now not speaking to him. He was trying to participate in the dance warm up, but he was so caught off guard by the argument with Vriska that his limbs felt like they were a beat behind his brain.

“TURN TO THE RIGHT, JUMPING JACKS!” Meenah hollered from downstage, where she and Jane were leading the warm up. They were some of the only cast members who actually did dance. Jade did Aerial Dance, so she was warming up onstage with the others. Terezi, Eridan, and Feferi, however, were all exempt from warm ups because they took Dance last period, the lucky bastards.Terezi was sitting in the audience, gripping her cane (which she didn’t really need), and Feferi and Eridan were stretching (They were both annoyingly flexible.) 

“TURN TO THE RIGHT, GRAPEVINE!” Jane shouted. John panted, his glasses slipping down his nose with sweat. His mind turned to Roxy, who was warming up beside him. Her pink hair was tied up in a little ponytail at the nape of her neck, and she was wearing dark blue workout clothes. She was panting hard from exertion. John decided to talk to her about Vriska. Maybe she would understand why she’d gotten so angry at him. Maybe she’d even have some advice! 

“TURN TO THE RIGHT, HIGH KICKS!” Jane snapped. His version of a high kick was slightly extending his leg out in front of him. He couldn’t even touch his toes. He knew that we hasn’t a dancer, which was why he was glad he was a singer. Otherwise there was NO damn way he would have gotten the lead role. 

After warm ups, Dave called places for I Guess I’ll Miss The Man. Everyone except Feferi was offstage for this, so John caught up with Roxy backstage as the Orchestra took their places. Feferi stood center stage, waiting for a Go. 

“Can we take it from Catherine’s line, ‘Could you hold that light for a minute please?’” Rose said. The song started, and John sat down next to Roxy. While most of the cast congregated around the SM table, John and Roxy sat in the upstage Wing, away from everyone. Feferi sang gently.

_ I guess I’ll miss the man. Explain it if you can. _

John opened his mouth to ask about Vriska, but was interrupted by Roxy swaying to the tune. 

“I love this song.” she said quietly. John grinned. 

“Me too.” he replied. He hadn’t really thought much about this song, since he wasn’t in it, but it really was a beautiful song. They listened for a moment. 

_ Some days he wouldn’t say _

_ A pleasant word all day! _

_ Some days he’d scowl and curse. _

_ But there were other days _

_ When he was really even worse. _

“So listen,” he said, trying to bring up Vriska again. “I’ve been thinking about Vriska all day...”

“Yeah?” she said. He couldn’t read her tone. 

“Yeah, I think she’s mad at me.” 

“Oh.” Roxy said. She continued to sway to the song. 

_ Some men are heroes, _

_ Some men outshine the sun. _

_ Some men are simple, good men. _

_ This man wasn’t one.  _

“Yeah, and.... I don’t know, I’m feeling pretty bummed out by it.”

_ And I won’t miss his moods. _

_ His gloomy solitudes.  _

“I’m sorry, John. What do you want me to say?” Roxy said. She’d stopped swaying and was sitting a little closer to him than before. He didn’t break eye contact. 

_ His blunt, abrasive style. _

John didn’t want Roxy’s opinion. He just wanted her to make him feel a little better. Vriska could be so rough sometimes. Roxy was soft and warm and made him feel good. So he reached out with one arm and pulled her into a side hug. Her head fell into the crevice where his neck met his shoulders. It felt good. Easy. 

“I don’t want you to say anything.” he said. It was true. This was good, for now. He was feeling better already. 

_ But please don’t get me wrong. _

_ He was the best to come along _

_ In a long, long while. _

As Feferi held out the last note, Roxy shifted up and looked at John. He looked at her as if to say, “What?”

And then Roxy did something which John wasn’t expecting. Mostly because he’s not very observant and is bad at reading situations. 

She kissed him right on the mouth. The kiss lingered for a few moments. Her lips were warm and tasted kind of like bubblegum before she pulled away and covered her hands with her mouth, seemingly shocked by her own actions. John felt pleasantly surprised until Vriska once again popped into his mind. 

“Vriska.” he said, and Roxy nodded, horrified. 

“I know!” she hissed. “I’m sorry, John, I’m going to go...” she stood up and disappeared into the darkness backstage. 

He sat there for a long time. So long, that he didn’t notice that his cue had come and gone approximately 178 times and he was still sitting cross legged in the dark like an idiot. 

“John.” Latula said, shaking him from his thoughts.

“What?”

“Your entrance. For the finale.”

“Right!” He said, standing up. He shook himself a little bit. “They aren’t redoing I Guess I’ll Miss The Man?”

“They are, but they want to get through the first few lines of the Finale Sequence first.” she responded. He entered to find Terezi sans-glasses staring at a spot  _ near  _ his head. 

“Well Pippin.” she said, wrapping her arm around him. “I guess you finally realized what we knew from the beginning.” 

“What’s that?”

“That your search for fulfillment was doomed from the start.” said Karkat in a booming voice, entering from stage right. 

“Nothing ever turns out the way you think it’s going to.” Jake said behind him. 

“It’s all flawed in one way or another,” Vriska mused. “Isn’t that true?”

“Nothing has been completely fulfilling now, has it, Pippin?” Roxy asked in her Berthe voice. But something behind it caused John to pause for a second and look again at Vriska. 

“Has it?” Said Terezi with an air of finality. John, shaken, returned to his actor’s mind. 

“No.” all those around him laughed and smiled. “I guess there’s nothing.”

Then they yelled cut and went back to the beginning of I Guess I'll Miss The Man. And John retreated backstage, suddenly very aware that he, too, felt no fulfillment. Though he wasn't sure if it was in his relationship with Vriska or his friendship with Roxy. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UGH The most underrated song on the Pippin soundtrack is I Guess I'll Miss The Man! The girl who played Catherine in our production did such a lovely job with the song, too. It wasn't really until I was listening to it for this fic when I was kinda just like !!!!  
> Here's a link to the Rachel Bay version from 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHNrm7K8Zww  
> Here's my preferred version sung by Jill Clayburgh in 1972: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEC9W5Whp0c
> 
> Also I decided to make Kanaya and Porrim Sikh because I've been doing a lot of research about world religions and I just felt that the Maryams sort of worked within Sikhism, like their belief in Equality and Brotherhood.It really just made sense to me. I had them hail from Cumbria, England, because I'm in love with Felicitous Artisan's Kanaya voice and I always write Kanaya's lines in her accent. I just thought it would be a nice little detail to throw in. 
> 
> FINAL NOTE! The dance warm up is totally based on every dance warm up up I've ever had to endure during my time in high school theater. Dance captains screaming "TURN TO THE RIGHT JUMPING JACKS!" Is forever burned into my memory.
> 
> Thanks again for reading! Make sure to leave Kudos and Comments!

**Author's Note:**

> Make sure to leave reviews!


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